Artist’s exhibition at LBCC’s art gallery commemorates their past masculine self

The featured artist of LBCC’s newest art exhibit aims to lay to rest toxic masculinity in a show the artist likens to the act of an “exorcism” and “ejaculation.”

MUXXXE, hailing from Tijuana, Mexico, is the faceless, nonbinary visual artist and performer behind “Sementario ” running at LBCC’s art gallery through Nov. 18.

“This is a eulogy to the person I once was and it’s also like an exorcism…a release of all the things that no longer serve me. Think about semen, ejaculation. That’s like the biggest release there is.” MUXXXE said while making a suggestive hand motion. 

“Yea, like a release and also like f*** you. This is who I am.”

Cementerio means cemetery in Spanish. The choice to spell the word with an S was deliberate, insinuating the word semen into the title, to further accentuate the allegory of death to the violent heteronormative behaviors plaguing queer people in Mexico. 

Gender violence, especially toward queer people and women, is rampant in Mexico given the country’s long standing history with machismo ideals which views these individuals as disposable.

Sementerio seeks to eradicate that notion.

“Machismo and violence is too common in Mexico. It’s accepted and has become almost like a way of life, affecting the way we interact and communicate with each other.”, said MUXXXE, before donning their Zentai suit, a garment which completely covers their body from head to toe. 

MUXXXE was born in 2016 out of a desire to perform in front of audiences and explore sound while shedding the image of their former self. 

The word muxe is a word used by the indigenous Zapotec people of Mexico which means “third gender”. 

“MUXXXE is the skin I wear that separates me from myself,” the artist said. 

They went on to explain that under the veil of MUXXE, they are emboldened to push boundaries and explore themselves in ways they might not otherwise do through music and fashion.

The theme of laying rest to their former self was best expressed by a wall of tombstones with varying epitaphs in Spanish saying  things like, “In memory of the time I lost on you” and “In memory of all that once was.”

In addition to the mixed media displays within the gallery featuring MUXXXE straddling a coffin, there was also a  performance planned for the later part of the evening. 

Attendees mingled with excitement as anticipation for the artist’s set built. 

“I like the macabre,”  said Fatima Aguilera, an art student at LBCC. “ This is also something I have been researching on my own; the themes around machismo culture in Mexico and the femicide of indigenous women.”

Then, a haunting figure adorned in white lace and leather emerged from the rear corner of the gallery. 

MUXXXE, in 6 inch platform boots, towered over attendees as they made their way to the center of the gallery, their long silky wig swaying with every step. 

Standing still, with their lace zentai suit adorned with a white leather bustier, gloves and matching thong, MUXXXE surveyed the crowd. 

A hush fell upon the room while an eerie backing track of synthesized beats hummed, lower and lower until complete silence engulfed the space. 

Slowly, MUXXXE raised the mic to their covered face and trap-like beats infused with reggaeton, blared from the speakers while they rapped in Spanish.  

The energy picked up with each song, propelling MUXXXE to eventually tear off their wig. 

The fluidity with which the artist expresses their feminine and masculine energies was on full display with their “second skin” serving as the canvas for said juxtaposition.

As their performance went on, MUXXXE worked the crowd in a way that seemingly offered attendees permission to join in on the catharsis and release whatever they needed to while taking in the essence of Sementerio, as a whole. 

The gallery took in mixed media pieces such as digital art and images rendered on pieces of metal for the exhibit. 

“These are the first-ever fully commissioned works for LBCC,” said art gallery director, Karla Aguiniga. “Meaning all of these pieces were made specifically for us and have never been shown anywhere else before.”

Aguiniga went on to say that the Sementario exhibit is a peak into the next generation of what the art gallery can be in terms of its ability to host a variety of media.

The gallery runs until November 18 at the LAC Art Gallery